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Psalms and Song of Songs

  1. Lesson One
    Overview of Poetry
    31 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  2. Lesson Two
    Poetic Structures
    22 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  3. Lesson Three
    Praise and Lament
    24 Activities
    |
    2 Assessments
  4. Lesson Four
    The Diversity of Psalms
    28 Activities
  5. Lesson Five
    Song of Songs
    20 Activities
  6. Course Wrap-Up
    Course Completion
    1 Activity
    |
    1 Assessment

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Psalms and Song of Songs Praise and Lament Behind | Mesopotamian Parallels to the Psalms
Lesson 3, Activity 17

Behind | Mesopotamian Parallels to the Psalms

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These messages are addressed to different deities, but the theme is the same. They ask rhetorical questions about divine protection and remind their divine audiences of the value of keeping them alive. The core of their message is more or less, “I’m no good to you dead.” Here’s another example below.

Source: Anna Elise Zernecke, “Mesopotamian Parallels to the Psalms,” The Oxford Handbook of the Psalms, edited by William P. Brown,2014, pp. 35-36.

Psalms (ESV)Prayer to Ištar
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? (Psalm 13:1-2 ESV)How long, my Lady, will my enemies look malevolently at me, (and) with lies and untruths plan evil against me? How long, my Lady, will the idiot (and cripple) overtake me? (Ištar 2:6, 59, complaint)
How long, my Lady, will you be angry and your face be averted? How long, my Lady, will you rage and your feelings be infuriated? (Ištar, 2:93-94, second petition)

Like the Psalms, other ancient Near East prayers and hymns ask rhetorical questions and seek relief from persecution. They all express deep suffering and feelings of helplessness. 

As we read the Bible in its ancient context, it’s important to be able to locate the unique aspects of the Psalms and identify which parts are generic to the ancient world and human experience universally. The emotions of the Psalms are not necessarily specific to the Bible. The God of the Psalms—YHWH—is the single most important difference.